[Important Information for Employees] February Campus Update

[Office of the President]

Dear Cardinal Community,

I appreciate your collective work on behalf of our students as we complete
the first month of the spring semester. From the winter break we very
quickly moved into action and celebration.

The grand re-opening of the new Memorial Hall last weekend is a powerful
example. The splash of red across the entrance and the top of the building
wrap around bring it to life for the thousands of cars that pass by each
day. It is a new beacon on campus. This project began five years ago and is
now a centerpiece and gathering space for students. This renovated facility
coincides perfectly with the Plattsburgh Next strategic plan’s theme of
health and wellness.

I want to thank everyone involved with the project, from the athletics and
recreation area to facilities and operations. This puts us on the map and
builds for the future.



*Buildings and Building*
Also forward-looking is the coming renovation of Redcay Hall as a future
home for admissions, alumni relations, institutional advancement and other
areas. This has entered a substantial design phase and a project team has
been on campus to hear your ideas. They will return March 6-8 to learn more
as they fully identify the scope and possibilities. This is another
strategic step that will welcome new Cardinals in a superior way and stay
with them through their after-graduation alumni engagement. In addition to
these listening sessions, meetings with current departments in Redcay will
continue to take place as the project takes shape and timelines are
solidified.

Work has also begun to envision and plan for a planned move of Clinton
Community College to our campus for fall 2025. Ken Knelly's appointment
earlier this month as special advisor to SUNY for the transition has
brought focus to the effort. Initial work has included the creation of a
joint coordinating committee made up of representatives from our university
and the community college covering key elements of any move and shared
services, including academics, student services, people, facilities,
budget, and technology. Information gathering in these areas, combined with
financial and operational needs of Clinton Community College, will drive
examination of shared services and consideration of space/location options.

A central place for updates and progress has been *created on the Clinton
Community College webpage*
<https://www.clinton.edu/college-relocation/default.aspx>.* A landing page
on our webpage is here
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/about/clinton/index.html>* and is designed to
bring visitors to the common location. More details will be shared as they
are learned, developed and known.

*New Cardinals*
Our spring semester has seen 361 new students enroll, or 11 more than the
target of 350. The total is a combination of first-year, transfer, readmit
and graduate students. Of note is the stabilization of enrollment. This
spring looks to be about the same as a year earlier.

Undergraduate admissions continues to see fall 2024 applications,
acceptances and deposits up year over year. Some upcoming initiatives to
maintain and grow prospective students in the pipeline include accepted
student days by academic school. This is made possible by the collaboration
of many areas of campus, including Academic Affairs, Student Financial
Services, Campus Dining, Special Programs, University Police and Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion. These events focused on the academic experience are a
new component to our events schedule and will be an important factor in
students’ decision making. Final preparations are being made for six
accepted student receptions that will occur in key geographic markets.
These events are also collaborations with these other areas, and also
Special Programs and Institutional Advancement.

As you have seen, read and heard, the federal government's delay in
renovation of the FAFSA process has created havoc across the higher
education spectrum. We and others have not been able to receive FAFSA
applications nor provide students with their full financial aid packages.
We anticipate (hope) an early April start to the awarding process. What is
unknown is what the impact will be on students' decision making and
ultimate college choice. We are doing many things to assist prospective
students, including added outreach, check-ins and direct assistance in
completing filings. This is time consuming but necessary work.

Also time consuming has been the work to become a teach-out partner with
the College of Saint Rose in three academic programs and advancing work on
the Master of Social Work program that could allow us to begin the program
a year earlier than anticipated, in fall 2024. This has been detailed work
involving many within the Academic Affairs division, whose work navigating
state and SUNY layers in particular has been superior. I appreciate this
great effort that will create opportunities for continuing and new students.

*Milestones*
As we near the end of Black History Month, it is worth pausing to mark the
wonderful range of events made available to faculty, staff and the wider
Clinton County community. These include concerts, guest speakers, tabling,
a dinner party, a read-in and even a field trip. This has been not only a
special time for self-reflection but a platform from which to advance our
learning and understanding for year-round efforts. I appreciate the work of
the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion division and others to make this happen
and draw our work forward on a pillar of our Plattsburgh Next plan.

As we think ahead, I also want to encourage each of you to complete the
campus climate survey you have been sent. This is an important tool as we
strive to improve as a campus and in our work as a team on behalf of our
students.

Finally, while we have many more great events to look forward to this
semester, there is one we have nothing to do with creating -- the total
solar eclipse on Monday, Apr. 8.

The campuswide eclipse committee is continuing to create ways to prepare
and learn as we approach this once-in-a-lifetime event. They are also
encouraging the submission of more ideas for the Totality Conference on
Friday, Apr. 8. The conference approaches the event by contemplating the
meaning of the experience from as many perspectives as possible --
scientific, social, cultural, aesthetic, historical, and spiritual.
Students, faculty, staff, and community members are invited to contribute a
session that speaks directly to one or more of these perspectives. *You can
submit proposals here* <https://forms.gle/mYHpJ1tJhntGER3QA> by Monday,
Mar. 4.

Thanks again for all you do on behalf of our Cardinal Community.

Alex Enyedi
President
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